One of the top priorities for Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice this summer will be composing a strategy to deal with the rising expectations his hockey club is facing after going farther than its ever gone before and finishing seven wins shy of the Stanley Cup.

But as the end of the Jets annual development camp nears its end, Maurice is like most hockey fans around the world – he’s eager to see where the big targets end up and what the trickle-down effect is for his own team.

“It’s exciting, but you are a bit on the outside. You’re not taking calls, so you’re watching all of the other teams and where they think they’re getting better,” said Maurice. “You know all the work that has to be done with your group, there are so many players that have to get signed. It’s an interesting time for coaches and we do it too. We decide after the first week of free agency who got a lot better and who didn’t. Usually, by Christmas time, you realize none of that was true. It didn’t quite work out that way. This is an exciting time. We’re in a different position with our team this year than we’ve ever been.”

The Jets wish list is certainly a lot different heading into July 1 this year than it was 12 months ago when they added goalie Steve Mason and defenceman Dmitry Kulikov and then added Matt Hendricks later in the summer.

The big question surrounding the Jets is whether or not they can make an offer enticing enough for centre Paul Stastny to stick around.

After that, the Jets have nine of their own restricted free agents to sign (including goalie Connor Hellebuyck, defencemen Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey and forwards Adam Lowry and Joel Armia, among others) and will be looking more closely at some depth signings and some others who are far more likely to spend time in the American Hockey League with the Manitoba Moose.

The Jets did get one item crossed off the to-do list earlier this week when they retained the services of defenceman Joe Morrow on a one-year deal for $1 million.

Morrow was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens as insurance but ended up appearing in 18 games with the Jets and another six in the playoffs, often playing alongside Dustin Byfuglien.

“He gets the tag of depth player attached to him all the time, but to find players that come in and out of the lineup but have a skill set that fits your group (is important),” said Maurice. “He skates well and moves the puck well and that’s a big part of what we do. And he plays the game slightly different than Ben Chiarot or maybe Dmitry Kulikov so it gives you a (different) style of game. I’m pleased he wanted to come back.

“He was in and out of the lineup and sat for a while and played but he had a real enjoyable experience here as a player and wanted to be a part of it. And you’d like to think your franchise has now turned a corner where you think you’ve gone from a hard time getting guys that players want to play here now. The room is good. We have a good hockey team and certainly if you spend any time in Winnipeg during the playoffs, it’s a great town.”

This is the time of the year when optimism can be found around the NHL and almost every team feels poised for a run to the Stanley Cup.

“Well, it starts last week (at the NHL Draft), 31 teams had the best draft ever and couldn’t believe they got their guys when they did,” said Maurice. “And then they move into free agency and they’ve either added a key piece or stood pat because they really believe in their team. And then you got a coach who wants to play fast and lots of accountability and then we drop the puck.”

Maurice is among those who can’t wait for the puck to drop.

And aside from a few systematic things his team will be working on in training camp, one of his biggest challenges is helping the group deal with the lofty expectations thrust upon them after reaching the Western Conference final.

“It’s inevitable. When you get to the conference final, the next step everybody thinks is that you should win (the Stanley Cup),” said Maurice. “There’s a long list of teams that have proven otherwise with that (theory). The fact is there probably isn’t a next step. We need to get harder and better at everything we do more consistently. We really don’t need to score more and we were top-five in goals against. The stats will tell you we were a pretty decent hockey team. We’ll see what team we have coming back and then our job in training camp is to get everybody to understand that it’s a darn fight to get into the playoffs.”

Laying the groundwork for that battle starts long before the Jets open the season against the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 4.

Paul Maurice isn’t ready to give Kristian Vesalainen a job among his 13 or 14 forwards, nor is he making any declarations about the Finnish forward needing time to be groomed in the minors with the Manitoba Moose.

As has been mentioned many times, the annual development camp is neither the time nor the place for those types of assessments or evaluations.

The answer to where the Jets 2017 first-rounder starts next season won’t be known until late September or early October, after Vesalainen attends his first training camp.

“I’d liked what I had seen last year, I like what I see now,” said Maurice. “It’s still a ways away before getting through a main camp and getting him with professional hockey players in North America and on the NHL stage. But there are lots of good tools there.”

Vesalainen, who said Wednesday his natural position is left wing, has ample experience on the international stage playing for Finland, so now it’s about making a smooth transition to the North American game.

One of the things working for Vesalainen is his confidence and belief in his skill set.

“Good. You want that, right? You want them feeling good about their game and what they can do,” said Maurice. “They get out in the exhibition games and hopefully, that confidence is there and it stays there. I much prefer dealing with a player who has lots of confidence in a game than a guy you’re trying to build his game up mentally for him.”

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